Mom tod me about the volunteer mission in her email on Sat..that is great what you guys are doing and trust me..when a soldier who gets that package who is somebody who never gets any type of mail..it is a sight to see. The kid almost starts crying because they got something in the mail while serving overseas!! Keep up the great work and thank you for your time.

Jeff (Lester)

Thank You Note- Katherine

7-20-2011

Dear Anne,

Just a quick note to thank you & the GS Blue Star Mothers for the care packages that you sent to me and some of our soldiers in our unit. I know they were greatly appreciated and a pleasant surprise! Not one thing went to waste as the boxes made the rounds among more than the intended soldiers! Soldiers are great at sharing. Thank you again for the boxes of sunshine !!

God Bless, Katherine

From LT William Swafford

I have a TOC ( Tactical operations Center) for My PLT and i built a large shelf where i put all the goodies we get in for the guys to grab what they need. The food has been going quicker then i ever imagined 18 year old boys and 25 year SGTs love to eat apparently. Very little contact with the enemy around here which is good for the men and me. I have been having meetings with villagers and elders and afghan security forces every day to try an figure out solutions to the thousands of problems they have here in Afghanistan. I have been working my men pretty hard but i know when it is all said and done they will be proud of the better Afghanistan they will be apart of. I find myself daily doing more and more Afghan things and at points the only true difference i have with some of these men is that i am a believer in Christ and they are a follower of Muhammad. However, i always joke and say " We are all sons of Abraham " . A lot of what i am doing will one day help me if I do ever accomplish my dreams of becoming a Politician, that is for sure. This place is like no country any American will ever deal with. Poverty, strong Islamic law and ruthless Jihadist that kill in the name misunderstood Islamic view.With out a doubt this is the poorest country iwill ever go to. No running water , no electrical systems , mud hut homes and very few children haves shoes, clothing . 15% of the population is literate and there is no medical facilities to treat there millions of medical problems. 95 % of the people here support us even love that we are in Afghanistan. It is my job to sway the other 5 % and bring them on board to a free and secure Afghanistan. However, that goal is far from the near future. Our job here is far from over , but we one day will have to give this country to the Afghans to run on their own and that is what my PLT is doing here in Goshta Afghanstan. The days have been long but there is no other job in the world that i would rather be doing then leading smart motivated American Paratroopers to changing and securing a once unsecure Afghanistan. Remind all that you come into contact with that we are proud of what we do and we ask nothing in return other than support from those back home. Keep the packages coming; they are great.